


i set fire to the rain

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Gay Keith (Voltron), I don't like this, Lance (Voltron) Speaks Spanish, M/M, Mentioned Pidge | Katie Holt, Mutual Pining, POV Lance (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), also something i have, but it's something, canon doesn't have it but i do, except i didn't really show that much, i dont know how to write without dialogue i swear, i really don't like this, i really fucking hate this, klance, not much of that, ranting is cause of swearing, there's still a lot of dialogue in this, this is so basic im so sorry, this is the result of me watching too much avatar, yes i have that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:29:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27292729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: water soothes him.not just drinking water, the rain, the ocean, the freshwater streams, every single bit of it.he finds comfort in it, one that he understands, more than most would.life always flourishes in it. no matter what the temperature or area, there is some form of life in it. water is the one substance he, along with even the simplest life forms, need to survive. it’s nice to know that no matter what, water will always have life around it. it’s the one constant around him that will essentially never change.what he doesn’t understand is fire.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	i set fire to the rain

**Author's Note:**

> this is the result of me watching too much avatar the last airbender  
> they don't bend at all in this  
> it's just lance trying to understand fire in the beginning  
> i wanted to use caps and proper formatting after the two am drabble but it looked weird after that so sorry if you don't like no caps.  
> allura is in their friend group i just didn't know how to add her in  
> i hate this sm im sorry
> 
> also the title is from adele

water soothes him. 

not just drinking water, the rain, the ocean, the freshwater streams, every single bit of it. 

he finds comfort in it, one that he understands, more than most would. 

life always flourishes in it. no matter what the temperature or area, there is some form of life in it. water is the one substance he, along with even the simplest life forms, need to survive. it’s nice to know that no matter what, water will always have life around it. it’s the one constant around him that will essentially never change.

what he doesn’t understand is fire. 

fire is ever changing.

it takes different forms, different colors, and most importantly, never stops spreading unless it’s put out. it’s a never ending chain of pain and destruction. 

but it also brings warmth and light.

he supposes it’s like that with people too. 

—

lance doesn’t like keith.

he’s rude, unaware, and annoyingly perfect.

except, he isn’t. not under the surface.

like the time when lance was sick and couldn’t go to class. instead of mocking him or letting lance drop his grade even more, keith gave him his notes and offered to help study with him. or the time where hunk was feeling homesick, and keith surprised him by booking him a flight back to see his family the next long weekend. or that other time when shiro was in the hospital after getting into a fatal car crash, and keith absolutely lost it. those weeks, he wasn’t perfect. he was hurt and scared, rightfully so, and he covered up his emotions with anger. 

in reality, keith’s kind, empathetic, and, well, human. 

so he doesn’t understand why everytime they seem to get along, one of them pushes too hard and says hurtful things they don’t mean. it’s not like that with any of his other friends, why does it have to be like that with keith? out of all people, why the one who’s so much like him, but the complete opposite at the same time? 

—

lance was excited for his first year in college. sure, he’d miss his family, but his older sister veronica lived near altea university, so he could always talk to her if needed. he was also dorming with his best friend since birth, hunk.

what lance wasn’t excited for was reuniting with his old rival, not that said rival even remembered who he was. 

it was a peaceful day for lance. he was going to meet hunk’s friend pidge, who was in the same field as him, and decided to get coffee for all of them at the nearest cafe on campus. as he was leaving, he bumped into someone, almost spilling his coffee all over them.

“sorry-” lance started, but he was interrupted with a familiar voice, but he couldn’t tell where he recognized it from. 

“hey! watch where you’re going!” 

“okay, well i was going to apologize but-” lance looked up, seeing the person’s face. recognition dawned on him. “wait! never mind fuck you, kogane.”

“you know who i am? am i supposed to know who you are?” the asshole had the _audacity_ to reply with, as if he’s never met lance. 

“you’re kidding right?” keith shook his head in confusion. “holy shit you’re not kidding. we were in the same astrophysics camp last year? at the garrison? we were like rivals, you know? lance and keith, neck and neck?” 

keith’s eyes narrowed. “oh wait, i remember you,” he started off, “you were in the division below me, right? how would we be rivals then- oh whatever. just watch where you’re going. i have to meet up with a friend but thanks to you i’m delayed.”

“why don’t you watch _where_ you’re going! i have places to go too, mullet!” 

“whatever,” keith scowled, walking off. 

“asshole.”

**lancey-lance** [11:05 AM]

hey hunk

i might be a little late

i ran into some jerk while leaving and spilled some coffee on him

 **hunkalicious** [11:05 AM]

that’s okay

pidge is bringing a friend over too

he’s also a little late

 **lancey-lance** [11:06 AM]

oh

okay

should i get him something too?

does he like coffee?

 **hunkalicious** [11:06 AM]

i don’t know

let me ask

 **hunkalicious** [11:07 AM]

no 

well, he does but he’s lactose intolerance 

**lancey-lance** [11:07 AM]

so... do i get it?

 **hunkalicious** [11:07 AM]

probably best if you don’t 

**lancey-lance** [11:08 AM]

who is this guy anyway?

 **hunkalicious** [11:08 AM]

his and pidge’s older brothers both went to garrison too

that’s how they know each other

his name is keith

 **lancey-lance** [11:09 AM]

keith...kogane?

 **hunkalicious** [11:09 AM]

yeah

you know him?

you guys are friends?

wait that’s awesome! 

**lancey-lance** [11:09 AM]

not.. really

 **hunkalicious** [11:10 AM]

lance. 

**lancey-lance** [11:10 AM]

uh oh

 **hunkalicious** [11:10 AM]

what did you do?

 **lancey-lance** [11:11 AM]

nothing! 

well, it’s not entirely my fault

remember that guy from summer camp? 

**hunkalicious** [11:11 AM]

the one you convinced yourself was your sworn rival?

the one you tried to one-up at every given situation?

this isn’t gonna end well, is it?

 **lancey-lance** [11:12 AM]

that was keith kogane. 

**hunkalicious** [11:12 AM]

oh my god

 **lancey-lance** [11:12 AM]

no it gets worse

he was also the jerk i ran into just now

 **hunkalicious** [11:13 AM]

lance! 

**lancey-lance** [11:13 AM}

wasn’t my fault! 

he didn’t see where he was going either! 

nor did he let me apologize!

 **hunkalicious** [11:13 AM]

i don’t really care who’s fault it was

can you try to be civil today? 

**lancey-lance** [11:14 AM}

i can indeed make an aempt

attemot

ATTEMPT

sorry i hate autocorrect

but i don’t know how long it can last

 **hunkalicious** [11:15 AM]

this isn’t going to end well. 

hunk was right. it ended horribly. now, lance liked pidge and had about five minutes of civil conversation with her, but all of that was ruined the moment keith showed up. they fought the entire time like two toddlers, which eventually ended when keith’s older brother showed up, who happened to be the takashi shirogane. lance’s literal hero was his rival’s older brother, so he shut up right away. it was kind of comedically pathetic. 

that was their first meeting. or, first meeting which keith remembers.

ever since then, all of their friends have been attempting to get keith and lance to a stage in which they could spend a few hours with each other and not kill each other. they’ve known each other for about six months now, and lance would say that they are friends, even though they still argue all the time. instead of it being malicious like it originally was, it’s now teasing and friendly though. lance wouldn’t have it any other way. 

  
  


except, one thing. 

—

“hey, what was your answer for number five?” keith asks him one day while they’re studying at the library. it’s still absurd to him. he, lance mcclain, loverboy lance, is studying with keith kogane, his self-proclaimed rival. _never in a million years did i see myself here. it’s weird how-_

keith snapped his fingers, breaking lance out of his thoughts. lance willed himself not to turn red. 

“hm? oh five, uh.. isn’t that c?” lance answered, or questioned… 

“are you sure about that?” 

“oh, yeah, i’m sure.” 

“you okay there? you seem a bit out of it?” keith asked, putting his hand on lance’s shoulder. 

lance blushed. he’d been doing that a lot recently, especially around keith. he’s still not completely sure why, although he has his suspicions. he’s not going to address them though. maybe if he just ignores his feelings, they’ll go away. 

“yeah, i just uh- i just remembered i have to meet up with veronica! yeah, her and acxa have a date tonight, remember? i have to go and give her moral support,” lance stuttered out. he wasn’t technically lying, acxa and veronica were going out later, but lance just needed an excuse to leave and try to sort out his mess what he calls his emotions. 

“i uh.. okay? i’ll talk to you later then?” 

lance nodded, getting up from his chair. as he was leaving, he looked at back at keith and stumbled into a bookshelf. he heard keith snickering at that, and flipped him off, trying to contain his blush. 

— 

“...he just- he just sucks, vero! he laughed when i ran into a bookshelf earlier today, and while his laugh is adorable, he laughed. at me! and he has a mullet! who even likes those? mullets are terrible! don’t even get me started on his-”

“his weird obsession with knives, yes i know lance,” veronica groaned. “lance, you go on this rant every time. hermanito, ¿sabes lo que pienso?” lance slowly shook his head. “creo que te gusta él.” 

“what?” lance shot up from his seat on the couch, voice going remarkably shrill, reminding him of the puberty stage. he winced, retaking his seat. 

“you should ask him out,” she suggested, but she said it with a light tone. lance couldn’t tell if she was being sincere or not. 

“¡cállate! i will not! pero, incluso si yo hiciere, no le agrado así…” lance mumbled out. 

“lance, you remember how much of an absolute disaster i was when i first met acxa right? same to her to me? like the time i just wanted to approach her and her immediate first thought was that i wanted to fight her. we didn’t necessarily start as the best of friends either, but the more time we spent together, the more we got along. you have no way of knowing if he likes you too without giving it a shot. i say you ask him out,” veronica smiled.

lance let out a small laugh, “o wise one, what would i do without you?”

“drown in your pity party.”

“no, but seriously, thank you veronica. i’ll think about it.” 

“great. now, can you help me figure out what to wear? you’ve been ranting for at least thirty minutes and my date is in two hours.”

—

they’re arguing again. 

they always argue about stupid, nosensical things. lance doesn’t even know why they do it anymore. 

today, it started off with lance flirting with the cashier. they were at the movies, and he was trying to seem charming enough so they’d get a free bowl of popcorn. it didn’t work, but it was mostly meant as a joke. he didn’t mean it, and it was obvious the cashier could tell.

he thought that much was clear to literally anyone around, but apparently not. keith tensed after that, and didn’t say anything. at all. at least, not to lance. 

everyone had left by then, and it was just keith and lance arguing. he doesn’t know why neither of them have left yet, their cars are right there. both of them are just standing there. yelling at each other. 

“why are you so mad at me? i didn’t do anything wrong!”

keith rolled his eyes, “why can’t you keep it in your pants for two seconds, lance! god, why do you do this so often? even when it’s just the two of us, you find some way to ruin it!” 

“what? i can’t flirt? it doesn’t mean anything, and i’m not obligated to anyone or anything! especially not to you. we’re not dating, why the fuck are you so angry?” lance snapped out, angrily, but also extremely confused. he thought everything was fine between them, but apparently not.

“would it be so bad if we were?”

“ _what_?”

“never mind. i-,” keith interrupted, his eyes hardening. “you’re right. we’re not dating.” _what?_ “it’s nothing. i’m sorry, i’ll get over it.” he got into his car. “i’ll... talk to you later. bye, lance.”

“wait- keith! keith, you asshole come back!”

_what the fuck just happened._

— 

“come on shiro, pick up, pick up, pick _up_.” lance was pacing around in his room, frantically pressing buttons on his phone. keith hadn’t answered any of his calls or texts, so lance figured shiro might know what’s up. 

“hello? lance? why do i have four missed calls from you? did something happen? are you okay?” shiro had _finally_ picked up, after what felt like thirty excruciating minutes. 

“shiro! what’s up with keith?”

“what?” shiro seemed confused, yet lance didn’t really care. 

“don’t ‘what’ me. he’s your brother and a horrible liar, you have to know what he’s thinking. why is he acting like this?”

“lance, i’m gonna need you to be more specific.”

“keith. we got into an argument, which i know isn’t unusual for us, but they’ve been recurring, especially after i flirt with someone. otherwise we’re fine, but every time i say something like that it almost seems like he gets jealous? i don’t understand- why is he jealous? when we were fighting earlier today, i said he had no reason to be angry and he- _oh_ .” lance stopped walking. _does keith- no way. no fucking way._

“oh?” 

“does keith like me?”

“what? yeah, of course he likes you, otherwise you guys wouldn’t be friends,” shiro seemed unsure on how to take that, which lance doesn’t really blame him for because it was out of the blue. 

“no, i mean, does he like me like he wants to date me?”  
“uh, i’m not really at liberty to say. why don’t you schedule a meeting with keith-” 

“it’s a yes or no question shiro.”

“you should ask him.”

“he’s not answering me! i’ve been texting him for days and i just got the idea to call you. i _know_ he likes me! i just need you to confirm it shiro, please,” lance asked, practically pleading. 

“fine. he does like you. do you like him?”  
lance let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding,“...yeah. i think so, i really do.”

“and what are you gonna do about it?” shiro sounded amused, but also curious. 

“try to get him to talk to me. but, after that i’m gonna ask him out.”

“yeah?” 

“yeah.”

“good luck then. but just remember, if you break his heart, i will break you,” shiro said this lighthardly, but lance still shuddered. he knew that family’s martial art skills were not something to underestimate. 

“i’m pretty sure keith could break me himself, but thanks. for the encouragement, not for threatening me,” lance tried to make a joke out of the situation, but shiro had already hung up. 

_how am i gonna do this?_

—

“keith! keith! stop ignoring me!”

“lance, i really don’t want to do this right now.”

“if we don’t talk now we’ll never do it!”

“i have class in fifteen minutes and you bombarded me in my dorm,” keith pinched the bridge of his nose, obviously irritated. lance didn’t have it in him to care about that right now though. “how did you even get a key?”

“shiro lent me his,” lance quietly admitted. 

“of _course_ he did. fine, whatever, you have five minutes.” 

“you like me,” lance stated. it wasn’t a question, he knew the answer. it was more of a reassurance for what he was going to say. keith’s feelings for him seemed the best way he could start that. 

“yeah. i’m guessing shiro told you that too?” keith asked, taking a seat on the couch. lance shook his head. “oh? you figured it out by yourself?”

“he confirmed it for me.”

“lance, if this is about my feelings towards you, i told you i’ll get over it,” keith started to get up. “now can i please go to class-”

“hey! sit back down! i’m not done!” keith put his hands in the air and slowly sat down, confused. lance winced, “sorry, that was loud. but stay put.”

lance took a deep breath, _you got this lance. you know he likes you too, so this conversation can’t go south,_ he said to himself. 

“i like you too. like, the way you like me.”

keith scoffed, “no you don’t.”

_spoke too soon lance._

“what do you mean ‘no i don’t?’ you can’t tell me how i feel!” 

“but you don’t like me, you’re just saying that so you can make me feel better.” 

“no, i really do like you!”

“negative.” keith seemed so sure about that, it’s like he couldn’t believe someone would like him. it really pained lance that he thought like that, but as of now, lance was kind of exasperated. “fine. let’s say you do like me, why?” 

“what?” 

“i know what i like about you, although moments like these make me want to punch you. tell me what you like about me.”

“you sure you’re not fishing for compliments, kogane?” lance tried to joke, but keith’s glare was enough to remind him to shut up. “okay, um… i like that you’re, you know, you. and uh-”

“wow. so flattering. gee, thank you so much lance.” keith sighs, “get out of my dorm.” 

“no! wait! don’t kick me out yet! it’s confusing, it’s like…” lance desperately tried to think of something. suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head. “you’re like fire.”

keith looks at him, confused. “i burn you? you’re really not helping your case here lance.” 

_of course he’d take it like that._ “no! you bring me a sense of comfort. you always push back against me, and i know you’re there for me when i need you, just like a fire doesn’t go out unless it’s forced to. whenever i’m around you i get this feeling of warmth burning inside me, which i cheesy as fuck i know, but it’s true. i really do like you,” lance started to smile, as he noticed a slight tint of red on keith’s cheeks. 

“oh,” is all keith manages to let out, probably a bit flustered. 

“‘oh’ he says. i give you a whole speech on why i like you and your only response is oh?” lance takes the joking route, a bit afraid he’s said too much. “i think i’m the one who needs a reminder on why i like you.”

keith lets out a soft laugh,“i mean, i like you too.” 

“yeah, i know.” both keith and lance are full on smiling now. lance doesn’t want this feeling to stop. “so, what now?” he asks instead. 

“now i have three minutes to get to class, but after that i’ll text you.”

“text me what?”

“the details for our date,” keith responds.

“oh yeah date! to be honest, i did not think i’d make it out of this alive so i need a moment to adjust to that.” 

“i really gotta go now,” keith gets up from his couch. as he was heading towards the door, he said, “i’ll give you five minutes to freak out in here but i’m going to have to trust that you’ll leave my dorm without looking through the stuff, seeing as i share it with a whole other human being, and that you’ll return the key back to shiro.” 

not wanting to push his luck, lance found himself nodding eagerly. “oh yeah! your roommate won’t even know i was here!” unfortunately, that was also when he accidently placed his hand on the table, knocking a few books over. he looked over, “you know what? i think i’m just gonna leave now.” 

keith smiles. “yeah, you do that,” he says as he leaves.

lance gives himself around a minute to do his celebration dance before putting the books back to where they originally were and awkwardly leaving. 

—

lance understands fire now. 

not only small campfires, but also large forest fires.

when they’re angry they’re fast moving, large, and easy to get burned by. when they’re happy, they’re bright, full of warmth and comfort. no matter what kind of fire, they’re always full of life. no one can take that from them. 

it’s thanks to keith he understands, even without keith knowing. 

speaking of the devil, their relationship is actually going pretty great. they’ve been dating for a few months, and they still argue all the time. it’s frustrating, but invigorating. lance kinda sorta thinks he might fall in love with this guy, maybe already is. 

now, lance can truly say he wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> my limited knowledge of spanish was in this, along with a mix of google translate  
> "hermanito, ¿sabes lo que pienso? creo que te gusta él.” - "little brother, you know what i think? i think you like him."
> 
> “¡cállate! i will not! pero, incluso si yo hiciere, no le agrado así…” - "shut up! i will not! but, even if i did like him, he doesn't like me like that."
> 
> sorry if this doesn't make much sense  
> i didn't think i was gonna write more but here i am  
> i really suck at writing actual stories because i don't have an idea of how to end it. when i've written before for fun, they're normally angsty one shots that don't turn out well, and i've only written like three of those.  
> maybe i'll write more  
> thank you for reading this  
> i hope you have a great day, or night, or whenever you read this  
> 


End file.
